The line has been virtually unchanged since its opening in 1985 and has two of the least used stations in the system. Its revitalization and expansion plan, whether to convert the line into using modern light rail vehicles or to close the line and extend the Bloor–Danforth subway line further into Scarborough, has been debated for over a decade by the municipal government of Toronto. In September 2013, the Government of Ontario, under Premier Kathleen Wynne, announced it would fund the extension of the Bloor–Danforth line to Scarborough Centre, which will result in the eventual closure of the Scarborough line.[5]

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From when the line opened in 1985 until 2015 it was known as the Scarborough RT or SRT in addition to the Line 3 moniker given to it in 2014. The "RT" in Scarborough RT stood for "rapid transit". Locals have often referred to the line as SRT or the RT for short.[6] The name Scarborough Line is used on the official TTC website and 2014 TTC Ride Guide.[7][8]

In October 2013, the TTC announced plans to give the lines official numbers to help riders and visitors to navigate the system. The line is numbered as Line 3, as it is the third rapid transit line to open in the system, and the new signage(s) commenced in March 2014 and it is expected that they will eventually be rolled out to all TTC rapid transit stations.[9][10][11] In 2015, the name was simplified to the Line 3 Scarborough line.

The original streetcar platform can be seen at Kennedy Station. This image also clearly shows the pusher plate for the linear motor between the rails, and the two inductive communications wires on either side of the plate.

In 1972, the provincial government announced the GO-Urban plan to build an intermediate capacity transit system across suburban Toronto using the experimental Krauss-Maffei Transurban.[12] The system failed to come to fruition, and the TTC began building the line for CLRV streetcars, but the ICTS system was used instead, because the Province of Ontario agreed to pay a large portion of the costs. This change was made after construction had commenced. At Kennedy Station, there are clues revealing that it was originally built for streetcar operation; it is possible to see old low-level streetcar platforms protruding under the current high-level platforms, and Kennedy Station originally had an operational loop to turn streetcars. This proved too sharp for safe operation of the cars, which did not have a reason to turn around, and the loop was replaced by a Spanish solution-like crossover.[13] Ontario wanted to develop and promote its new technology, which was originally designed for a proposed urban GO Transit service known as GO-ALRT. Changes to federal railway regulations had made the new system unnecessary for GO, and so the government hoped to sell it to other transit services in order to recoup its investment.

The Scarborough line opened in March 1985. Three years after it opened, the TTC renovated its southwestern terminus at Kennedy Station, because the looped turnaround track, originally designed for uni-directional streetcars under the earlier plan and not needed for the bi-directional ICTS trains, was causing derailments; it was replaced with a single terminal track and the station was thus quasi-Spanish solution, with one side for boarding and another side for alighting, though the boarding side is also used for alighting during off-peak hours and weekends.

With the line approaching the end of its useful life and eventual closure,[14] the TTC reduced the frequency of service effective mid-September 2012.

One unusual feature of the ICTS cars is that they are driven by linear induction motors: instead of using conventional motors to turn the wheels, they push themselves along the route using alternating flat magnets reacting with the distinctive di-magnetic aluminum metal plate that runs down the centre of the tracks. This system requires very few moving parts, and therefore leads to lower maintenance costs.

When the car motors are accelerating, they actually lift the car off the track an extremely small distance, repelling against the wide aluminum plate in the centre of the track.[16] This micro-lifting prevents the truck wheels from making a solid electrical contact with the track. (Comment from an engineer involved in the design: the net vertical force is actually down not up and has very little impact on the normal force at the wheel rail interface. Fourth Rail was chosen to eliminate stray current problems and is common on modern systems globally) Instead of using the conventional method, in which motive power is supplied by a single third rail, with return current travelling through the running rails, a separate positive and negative power rail are provided on one side of the track. With respect to the accelerating trucks and the micro-lifting, the truck wheels have a somewhat larger flange than normal in order to keep the car inline on the track during the micro-lifting. Note that the Scarborough line is not a true maglev.

The linear induction motors also allow the cars to climb steeper grades then would be possible with traditional subway technology since wheel slip is not an issue. This is an important consideration when trying to build a rail transit system into a built-up urban environment, such as Toronto.

The trains are also able to be operated exclusively by computers, using Standard Elektrik Lorenz's "SelTrac IS" system (now owned and delivered by Thales Canada Transportation Solutions), doing away with the need for a human operator. However, due to union opposition and public perception, operators were retained. (Other systems took full advantage of the automated operation and Vancouver's SkyTrain has been automated since 1985 with no mishaps.) The Scarborough line trains have only one operator, unlike the other TTC subway lines, which carry both a guard, who operates the train's doors, and an operator, who drives the train. In practice, the Scarborough line trains drive themselves; the operator monitors their operations and controls the doors. The transit workers' union has firmly opposed driverless trains.[17] One feature, which was not implemented at the time of Scarborough line's opening, is the automated next stop announcement system, which was introduced in January 2008 (which means operators are no longer required to call out stops manually), and uses the voice-over of TTC employee, Susan Bigioni as with all other subway lines.

The train on its elevated tracks between Scarborough Centre and McCowan

The line follows a roughly upside down L-shaped (or gamma-shaped (Γ)) route: first northward from Kennedy Station, parallelling the Canadian National Railway/GO Transit's Stouffville line tracks, between Kennedy Road and Midland Avenue, 4 km (2.5 mi) to Ellesmere Road; then eastward between Ellesmere and Progress Avenue, through Scarborough City Centre to McCowan Road. The Scarborough line's ICTS trains have their own small yard east of McCowan Station. This yard is large enough to store the existing fleet, but would have to be expanded or replaced if the TTC were to expand the line's capacity with new trains. Basic maintenance is performed in this yard; for more extensive work the cars are taken to the subway's Greenwood Yard by truck, given the train's different track gauge. The north-south section of the route, where it follows the CN tracks, is at ground level; the shorter east-west section (except for the ground-level yard) is elevated, as is the Kennedy terminus. The line dives briefly underground just north of Ellesmere Station to cross under the CN tracks. After that, it is elevated towards McCowan station Two stations, Kennedy and Scarborough Centre, are wheelchair accessible.

From 2 am to 6 am, when the Scarborough line is not operating, the 302 Danforth Rd-McCowan Blue Night bus serves the same area. The 302 originates at Danforth and Warden, where it connects with the 300 Bloor–Danforth that travels to the west. From Warden, the 302 travels east along Danforth to McCowan, then north along McCowan to Steeles. With the exception of McCowan station, it does not pass near any of the rapid transit stations, though other night bus services pass near stations. Bus service is extended on Sundays because the rapid transit lines start at 9 a.m. instead the usual 6 a.m. start.

This section is outdated. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(February 2015)

In 2006, a study was completed on the prospects of the Scarborough line.[18][19] It recommended upgrading the line to handle larger ART Mark II vehicles, at a cost of $360 million (2006 dollars). Extending the Bloor–Danforth line, either along the current route or along a different alignment directly to Scarborough Centre, was not considered cost-effective or justifiable.

In June 2013, Toronto City Council again debated to have the Scarborough line replaced with an extension of the Bloor–Danforth line north to Sheppard Avenue along a different right of way. Metrolinx issued a letter to Toronto City Council indicating it would cease work on the Scarborough portion of the line, because its position strayed from the original LRT agreement.[22] The subway alternative would cost between $500 million and $1 billion more than converting the Scarborough line to use the same rolling stock as the Eglinton Crosstown line be so it could be a continuation of that line. The Globe and Mail reported that Scarborough councillors had argued that providing Scarborough residents with light rail, not heavy rail treated them as "second class citizens".

Here is a comparison of characteristics between the LRT and subway proposals to replace the Scarborough line:[23][24]

Two competing subway plans were proposed to replace the Scarborough line. TTC Chair Karen Stintz proposed to extend the Bloor–Danforth subway line to the east before turning north with three new stations at Lawrence Avenue and McCowan Road, at Scarborough Town Centre and then at Sheppard Avenue East and McCowan Road, where it would connect to the Sheppard East LRT. Transportation Minister Glen Murray made an alternative proposal to extend the Bloor–Danforth subway along the route of the current Scarborough line but terminating at Scarborough Town Centre. Under the Murray plan, there would be only two stations and there would be no direct connection with the Sheppard LRT. The Murray plan would have required the relocation of Kennedy Station as a new northbound curve from the existing Kennedy Station would have been too tight for subway trains. The Murray plan would also have required the complete shutdown of the line during construction something that the Stintz plan avoided.[5]

On October 8, 2013, Toronto City Council voted 24–20 to replace the Scarborough line with a three-station extension of the Bloor–Danforth subway line. Council chose the Stintz plan for the extension.[25]

The subway extension is estimated to cost between $2.5 billion and $3 billion. Here is how that cost is to be financed:

Provincial Government: $1.48 billion

Federal Government: $660 million

1.6% property tax levy: $745 million

Increase in development charges: $165 million

The city will borrow money to pay its portion of the subway extension costs. The increases in property tax and development charges are to pay off this debt over a 30-year period.[25]

In the interim, the TTC is performing work on the cars to keep them operational until either the subway or LRT lines are completed. This includes a new outer livery that is almost entirely blue, to empasize the line's colour code.[26]

Internally, the rapid transit lines were numbered, but in October 2013, the TTC announced plans to give the lines official numbers to help riders and visitors to navigate the system. The Scarborough line is numbered as Line 3.[9] However, it should be noted that upon closure and removal of the line (becoming part of Line 2 Bloor–Danforth line), it would leave the TTC network missing Line 3. Other lines (Sheppard, Line 4 and Eglinton Crosstown line, proposed as Line 5) would not be renumbered, leaving Line 3 grandfathered.